Double Sided Fabric Headband Pattern

Hello blog world! It’s been a busy weekend! I hope all you Americans had a fabulous 4th of July. We had friends stay with us, a cookout, and my friends even had a baby shower for me. All the hustle and bustle really took a toll on my body though. I’m packing my hospital bag tonight because last night I thought we might be making an early trip (still a few weeks to go….but you never know). Now, it wasn’t that bad, but it was bad enough to make me think I need to have everything prepared. A BIG THANK YOU to my hubby for a ton of back rubs 🙂

I have this list of “blog” things I’m trying to finish up before baby E comes, so let’s see how I do.

I’m starting with this one: Double Sided Fabric Headband Pattern. I had so many ask about how I made the ones for my daughter’s teachers that I digitized the pattern for all of you to use and wrote up instructions.

You can make simple ones

or more elaborate ones. I made these with leftover pieces from my daughters quilt.
Are you ready to make one of your own?

Notes:-Always back stitch at the beginning and end of sewing, unless otherwise stated.-Seam allowances are 1/4″ unless otherwise stated.-Kid size will be made the same way except the elastic casing is so small that there is no need to do step 9.

1. Once you print out your pattern, cut the pattern pieces out. *Please note that pattern has now been updated and will look a little different when printed*

2. Cut out two pieces for the headband, making sure the pattern piece is on the fabric fold.

3. Cut out two pieces for the elastic cover (if you make your elastic piece longer, increase the length of these pieces as well). Again, make sure the pattern piece is on the fabric fold.

4. Cut your piece of elastic to be 5.5″ long.

5. Place the a headband fabric piece and elastic cover fabric piece down, right sides facing up. Then place the second pieces on top of them, right sides facing down. Make sure to match up the sides and pin together.

6. Sew down the sides of the headband and the elastic cover.

7. Turn each piece right side out. I do this by attaching a long piece of yarn to a safety pin.

Then I slide the safety pin through the what needs to be turned

and then pin one side of the end.

Tuck in the end that has the safety pin a little

and then pull the yarn on the other end and it will be right side out.

8. I use a long stick to push out the seams from the inside and then iron, but you can just iron each piece if you like. I just don’t like the fabric overlapping on the sides too much.

9. Now take the elastic cover piece and sew down each long side. This creates a middle casing for the elastic. *THIS step is NOT needed on the kid size one.

10. Add a safety pin to the end of the elastic and start to slide the elastic through the elastic cover. Make sure to stop before the end without the safety pin is inside.

11. Once the side without the safety pin is at the opening, sew it in place so it won’t go anywhere.

12. Continue to push the safety pin through the casing until the other end of the elastic is at the other edge. Sew that in place as well.

13. On each end of the headband piece,

turn in some so no raw edges are showing.

14. Slip in the elastic band until the place where you sewed is no longer visible and sew in place.

15. Repeat #14 on the other side.

16. Top stitch the sides of the headband part if desired (I sew closer to the edge than 1/4″).

They are simple to make and if you plan it well you can whip up a bunch at the same time assembly line style like. Then you have a bunch for yourself or gifts for the ladies in your life 🙂 Most of these will probably be Christmas presents. Great, huh? And it’s only July!!!!!

Yeah!! Thank you for the tutorial! I saw the ones you made earlier for your daughter’s teachers and I have been so hoping you would post a pattern. Thank you so much!! Praying that everything goes well with your delivery! Emma B

These are too CUTE! My girls and I are going to make some this week.. My oldest goes to camp this weekend and wants to make some to give to her bunk mates. Thank you for sharing!!! Great tutorial!Mechelle

Thank you for this great tutorial! I have tried it right away and made 2 headbands for my girls. I was surprised with the result – I have never sewn anything more difficult then a pillow but the headbands were easy to make and look wonderfull!

I haven’t made them for little girls yet, but it wouldn’t be that hard to resize. Give it a try 🙂 The elastic allows for a few extra inches for heads. Of course, adjustments can always be made if necessary. If adding a longer piece of elastic, just stretch it as far as it will go and measure it. Then that is how long you should make the casing for it.

So is the elastic the same size as the casing or shorter. I didn’t stretch my elastic. I made both the same length but didn’t gather it yet or sew the other side. I sewed one side and am going to wait it see what size to make it. I appreciate an input.

The casing will be twice as long as the elastic (if I remember correctly, it’s been a while since I made this. But the elastic is shorter none the less). This allows room for the elastic to stretch and will give room if you decide to make the elastic part longer after testing it out for sizing 🙂

I’m blaming my pregnancy-brain, but I cannot figure out how to print out your lovely pattern for headbands? (Other than printing out your blog post and guessing on the sizing)? Is there a direct link to the printable pattern? I really want a couple of these for my hospital bag (and just summer in general – SO adorable!) Thank You!coastchick at gmail

Oh my goodness – ignore please my last comment – I *just* saw the link to the pattern download. Oh I feel so silly, I swear I’ve read your post in entirety at least 3x and I *just* now saw the link. So silly.

I can’t wait to get started on these, they are so sweet! I also just “liked” you on fb and will enjoy hearing more about your adventures with crafts and kidlets!

Maybe try not putting the cover over the elastic? The the elastic might cling to your hair better and keep it in place. You could also try using fabrics with some kind of texture that would help it kind of cling to the hair more? Or just add a bobby pin or two to hold it securely in the back?

Usually I get very stressed out reading pattern instructions because it’s like reading Klingon, but your tutorials are easy to understand, and you never skip a step. I hope you continue forward with this (and please make an adult size pattern for the “as you like it dress/shirt”.)

Love these! I have tons of fabric scraps from other projects so this will be perfect. The only thing is I kinda have a flat head at the back so I don’t know if these will stay put on me. Will still have to try 🙂 Thanks for sharing.

Just found your website yesterday & made my first headband today. I’m wearing it with a huge smile on my face. I’d purchased tons of different pieces of fabric months ago & could never come up with an easy solution to make a headband. Add my complicated life (stay at home mom & we recently moved) and making the time to come up with an idea was just never important enough. Well… enter your blog & the pattern. I’m sooooooooo happy!!! I even made my first while my baby was napping so I feel like a rock star goddess. And how I love the headband… everything about it & the instructions, the pictures, the time & effort you put into sharing. Thanks so much for putting it out there. You really improved my quality of life for today & the future. I can’t wait to make the rest & will do so in the ‘assembly line’ fashion. Ok, gotta go, the peanut is waking up, but I had to share my joy & appreication!!!!!!! xoxoxoo! Angie

Yes! I believe in you 🙂 You can do it! Just take your time and take a break if you get frustrated at all. It can be hard at the beginning when learning to sew, but the more you sew, the easier it becomes!

This is SO super nice of you to offer. I haven’t read through yet but thought I’d send out a thank you while the pattern pieces are printing. I have a bohemiannie! bag pattern that I’d like to give you if you’re interested. (I sell them but would like to give you one). You can find it on my blog on the left near the top if interested. Thank you, Thank YOU!

I would love to make some of these, but every time I click on the pattern picture to try to get it, it keeps telling me I don’t have permission to view the picture. I did join the flickr group so not sure what I am doing wrong.

The link to the picture is to where it is hosted on Flickr. To get to the pattern, click on the highlighted words that says “download pattern here” and it will take you to where the actual pattern pieces are hosted. If that doesn’t work for some reason, let me know and I can just email you the pattern pieces 🙂

These are so stinking cute! Just made one for myself and one for my daughter and we are in love with them! Thank you so much for sharing this!I was wondering if it is allowed to sell the ones I sew? Wouldn’t want to do it without your permission!

My step daughter plays volleyball and I have seen these at some of the touranments and have been wanting to make them for her team and didn’t have a clue on where to start! Thanks for putting this on here! Can’t wait to get started!

Never mind, I figured it out! I apparently need more coffee 🙂 I thought the line was to be one inch from the top of the paper. Duh! I just made one and it seems just a tad bit too small so I need to play around with it a bit more to fit my apparently too big head. 🙂 Thank you for sharing the pattern. This was quick and easy to make. Karen

Love the fabric you used on these headbands. Looks like something I would do. Thanks for sharing your pattern. I just started wearing something like this to keep my frizzies hidden! Can’t wait to finish my current project to make some of these.

I made several of these as soon as I saw the pattern. 5.5 inches of elastic is not nearly enough to go over the head. I increased the elastic to 7 inches and lengthened the band to between 16 and 18 inches (depending on the fabric I had available). I used bandanas as the fabric for both sides. One is a hippy Love print, the other is a blue camouflage. Next will be a red watermellon print, and then a blue star patriotic print. These are mostly for an exercise class and are especially good for long hair that doesn’t like pony tails.

Just had to tell you that I SO appreciate the time you put into this tutorial, the pictures and instructions are SO clear. I made one for my daughter months ago and am about to assembly line a few more so came back. THANKS!!!

Lovely clear tutorial but made it and its way too small for my head, so might adjust to fit my daughter. Agree that needs more elastic and a larger elastic cover piece… but still super lovely and i am pleased with the result!

Thank you so much for taking the time to create a pattern and tutorial.

I had been making these headbands for awhile for my 4 year old daughter but could never get the sizing right – until I found your tute! Also, the addition of the elastic casing is *very* professional looking and polished. I will never go back to plain elastic backs after this now that I know how to do it neatly.

I just made a TON of these headbands tonight for both my daughter and a little girl we know of (daughter of a cousin’s friend) going thru chemo. I am sure the HB’s will make her smile for a bit and make her feel girly. I’ll be making about ten more tomorrow as I sit indoors in the AC 😉

ps. I went up to 6.5 inches with the elastic and found it fits alot nicer. My daughter and I have large heads maybe? lol… I guess it depends on the elastic you use in all seriousness. I used half-inch braided elastic. It stretches nicely and doesn’t hurt. Woven elastics are too stiff IMO.

Your headbands are so pretty! I have been looking for a new craft to start selling and that people would really like – and I think I just found it. I’m going to pull out the sewing machine this weekend. ThANKS!

Thanks for the super cute tutorial. I ran into a small problem though…..because I am cheap and dont want to replace my ink in my printer I sent your patern to kinkos only to find out that you have a copy right on the pattern. Of course they wouldnt print the pattern but I am confused. In a previous post you said we could make and sell them….can you clarify it… is it ok to print the pattern?

Hi 🙂 The copyright is just stating that someone can’t take my pattern and say it is one they made or sell copies of it. You are more than welcome to print it and sell items from it 🙂 If they won’t print it, maybe you could go to a library and do so? I will not be near the computer that file is saved on for a bit, so I cannot change it and then send it to you for printing purposes for a while. But, if that is what you need, just email me at jessicafediw@yahoo.com and we’ll get it straight.

Thanks, I didn’t think about the library good call. We are doing them for a Super Saturday at church and wanted to make sure they had a pattern to make it easier. Just wanted to make sure, I need them pretty quickly so the library it is. Thanks again for the clarification.

Do you have instructions on making the four fabric bands like you show in the pictures. I work at a quilt shop, one of our customers wants us to host a birthday party for her 13 year old daughter and friends. I am trying to figure out a way to have the bias seams done so the girls can just lay your pattern down and cut out the pieces. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. We would be glad to pay for the pattern if you have them for sale. I can be contacted at http://www.prairiequilt.com.

One of the customers at our quilt shop has asked us to host a birthday party for her 13 year old daughter and friends. She found your tutorial, and wants the girls to make the four fabric bands. I have been trying to figure out the angle so we can have the bias seams done for the girls. Do you have a pattern for sale, or some advice you will share? Any help will be greatly appreciated. You can contact me at randa@prairiequilt.com

Thanks so much for this tutorial. I had a pillowcase dress I made for my daughter that didn’t fit anymore. I repurposed it into a skirt and took the strap and made a headband for her. So, I modified it a bit but your instructions helped me get it completed. Thanks so much!

You are welcome 🙂 I just recently added a link up there of where another reader made a pattern for smaller children. Did you see that by chance? Or are you going for a different size than hers as well? I would make both smaller for sure. I figured the headband length by measuring from bottom of one ear to the other. Then the rest of the length around the back was the length of the elastic plus enough for seam allowance. I played around with the headbands width until I liked it, but I know others have made it smaller and I think that would be a good idea for a child’s as well. I hope this helps somewhat. I just haven’t sat down yet and down a child’s one. I should add that to my list though as many ask about it 🙂

Hi 🙂 Are you able to print out the pattern pieces? I don’t have one near me at the moment, but I can look it up and measure one if needed. I know some people have said it was a little small for their head, so they just made the elastic part longer.

I love these so much. I just made one for my daughter with the kid pattern that is linked. The whole thing was super duper easy, i did have one issue though…when you connect the fabric/elastic piece to the headband i couldent get the rough edges of the material to fold in and there was no way that the elastic pieces were gunna fit into the little opening if i could. so i ended up just swing the rough edges over each other. they dont look as “complete” as your do, but i dont know what else to do to make it connect ant look finished. any suggestions?? Maybe should I use a thinner elastic and cut the piece that goes over it so its thinner??

Thank you for sharing! I haven’t made a little one yet, but yes, I would suggest just doing a thinner elastic or redo the pattern yourself so that the bottom ends will be wide enough to hold the 1″ elastic.

Do you have any suggestions for adjusting the elastic size? I made one with the 5.5 inch and it was rather small, then I did 8 inch and it was a little big for me but my daughter couldn’t get it over her head! Just looking for a happy medium! Otherwise its perfect!

Hi 🙂 I would suggest sewing in a longer piece of elastic (like the 8″ piece) just on one side then kind of try it on to see what would be a good length for your head size. Hold the other side in place and make sure that you can get it on and off the way you like it. Then trim it and sew in that side. And if you make the elastic longer, make sure to make the casing for it longer as well so it will stretch with the elastic. Hope that helps 🙂

How sweet of her! The idea was from a combination of things. I had some fabric headbands, similar to this but more full in the top part, but I wanted to be able to make some from the pretty fabrics I had. I also looked at other in stores like Claire’s, etc. for inspiration. So I decided to make up my own pattern and then share it with everyone 🙂

I love this tutorial! It’s so easy to take scraps from a project and make a cute, matching headband. I started teaching sewing lessons at my house for our homeschool program, and this will be our first thing to make on the machine. By the way folks, it’s easy to adjust this pattern for younger and smaller heads. Just stick it on your printer/scanner, shrink it down by 15%-25%, and voila…that’s it. 😉 I found 15% to be just right for my students, who are 8-11 years old.

These are so cute and thank you for sharing!I don’t understand where the patterns shows “cut 2 on fold”… Should I actually cut through the fold or am I supposed to have a double piece of fabric?Sorry for the silly question, I’m trying (unsuccessfully) to learn how to sew 🙂

I’m picturing if I was cutting a heart out of paper. Do I want the whole heart or just half?Thank you so much!

Hi Lauren 🙂 Good for you for teaching yourself to sew! That’s what I did. So, you do not want to cut the fold. You will see that term a lot on sewing patterns. You cut “the whole heart”, not just half. The “fold” is literally just where the fabric is folded.

I am taking a mission trip to Uganda in December and to support my trip I am sewing a bunch of different items and friends/family are buying them. I made my first one tonight, came out great especially since I really am a beginner when it comes to seeing. Thank you so much!

Love these headbands! I think I am doing something wrong because the elastic casing doesn’t gather like yours does. Rather than stretching and shrinking it’s pretty flat. Should I be cutting the elastic smaller than the elastic cover piece? Should it be snug when the elastic goes through the cover piece?

🙂 Glad you like them. Either the casing isn’t long enough (the pattern piece should be placed on the fabric fold to make it longer) or the elastic is too long. Basically, the elastic should be shorter than the fabric piece. Then when stretched, the fabric has room for it to stretch. I hope that helps. The length of the fabric and elastic can be altered to fit any head, so as long as you can make it work, I say it’s good 😉

Hello! Thank you for sharing this tutorial. I am from the Philippines teaching young kids how to sew. I would like to inform you that I used this pattern to teach my students and we made a whole bunch out of our scraps. We are joining a village bazaar in our neighborhood this weekend and we will be selling the headbands that the kids made. Proceeds from our sales will be donated to help our brothers and sisters in the southern part of our country who are now suffering the devastation that Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan had left them. You may check out how the headbands turned out in my facebook page “seweasyforkids”. Please know that I consider you to have been part of this humanitarian effort.

Thank you so much for blessing us with your wonderful creative talent and for being generous in sharing it. God bless you!

I am having trouble with the small headband pattern. Can you send me the link? I don’t have a child to try it on so I’m not sure about the size but I want to make some to sell at craft shows. Anything you could send would be great! Wonderful blog too! Thanks for sharing these wonderful ideas. rnix3041@charter.net

Thank you so much for this pattern and tutorial! Cant wait to make a few for myself and my daughters. Also, THANK YOU for letting us sell what we make from your pattern!rockinronna.etsy.comRonnaParker, CO

Could I get your permission to make headbands with your pattern to sell at a fundraiser Ujamaa Grandmas has in the fall each year. We raise funds for grandmas and aunties in Africa who are raising children orphaned by aids. http://www.ujamaagrandmas.com/Thanks in advance for your consideration!

Thank you so much for the printable and tutorial! I love this headband and finally made one yesterday, after pinning this tut ages ago and printing the pattern months ago! Here is mine: http://instagram.com/p/n7EFQMQD5N/ Thanks again!

We are using your headband pattern and instructions as a “prize” for the 25 students in our 4-H Club week-long sewing camp.

I have cut out the pieces and each student will receive the fabric pieces, the elastic and directions, all wrapped up in a cellophane bag with a ribbon. These will be given out to everyone at the end of our “Craziest Hat Contest” tomorrow.

Thanks so much for sharing, and for the very well written instructions. I am only a beginner sewist, and I can follow along easily, so I know my girls will “get it,” too.

Thanks for the pattern, I was making some pocket tees (pockets to sew on t-shirts, some with monograms, some with out, and my daughter asked if I could make her a matching headband, how creative of her to think of that. Thanks so much for the pattern, can’t wait to make these, this will double their gifts, – pocket tee and matching headband!!!

Hi 🙂 I do not unfortunately, but I know that the lady that created it does speak English if you would like to email her. Or I would suggest using google translate maybe? It would be made the same way as the adult size, just a different length of elastic.

Thanks for the great Tutorial and pattern! I just finished 3 of these for my cousins Birthday party TONIGHT! Lol
I’m going to post on my blog later this week, if you wanna take a peek. I will totally give you credit!http://thecreativechica.blogspot.com/

I made my first headband as per your instructions. The practice one I did was easy. I will have to extend the length of the headband part a little, as I wear the headband just above my forehead, covering my hair.

I’ll be making a few for work, as my hair still hasn’t grown long enough to go into a ponytail.

Mine came out roughly around 18.5″ unstretched and stretch to 24″. You can shorten any part to fit however you need 🙂 I did the measurements for these headbands like this: The top length equaled the length from bottom of one ear, over the head, to the bottom of the other ear and then I added seam allowance. I played around with the width until it was on I liked and then the elastic casing length was just double the length of the bottom of ear, around bottom of head, to bottom of other ear. I kind of played around with elastic length as well. I hope that helps with understanding if you need to resize and create a pattern yourself.

Wooot! New sewer here and this was my very first project! It was pretty exhilarating, especially once it came time to insert the elastic. Pretty mind-blowing how that worked itself out. Thank you for the great pattern and tutorial!

Thanks so much for this pattern! I made one for my 3 y.o. this afternoon. It came together so quickly & easily, I’m now working on a pile for my little nieces for Christmas. It’s going along great using your tip of making them assembly line style. Thanks again! 🙂

I recently found this tutorial and have been sewing up a storm! I’m making these headbands as gifts for all my favorite girl’s (both big and small) for Valentines Day. Thanks for making this easy! Love your blog too!

This is a great pattern! I have all these scraps of material from the dresses I’ve made and true to nature have said…”oh, I’ll keep these JUST in case I can use them for something else”. WELL….my “something else” just came in!!!!! So easy, so fast – not to mention how great they look with a matching dress! Awesome! Thanks so much.

I loved this! so easy to do. WAY too small for my head. but thats my fault i should have known better. I have a huge head. Mine is fall/thanksgiving themed. one one side there are fall colored owls and on the other there are turkeys and it says gobble til you wobble. i love it! Thanks for posting!

Thank you for your wonderful tutorial. I made a couple for myself, my daughter, and my granddaughter. I found that I wanted it to be a little bit stiffer so I added a layer of lightweight fusible interfacing. With or without the interfacing, it is a great headband.

Well I’m glad you tried it out and can now customize it to fit your head 🙂 I’m not sure if you saw my write this in other comments, but I created it by measuring from the bottom of the one ear, over my head, to the other side, to get the top measurement. Then I measured the bottom from ear to ear and then doubled that amount to allow for stretching. So you can totally make it your own 🙂

Hi 🙂 Well that line should measure 1″ and if it does the top of the headband piece pattern should be just over 3″ and the elastic cover piece 1.75″. If those are all correct, you might just sew a larger seam allowance with than me 🙂 You can always add width to your headband pattern pieces to make it work for you. Let me know if you have any other questions and we will figure it out.

Here you go 🙂
-Adult size: 5.5 to 6 inches of 1/2″ or 3/4″ elastic (this can be adjusted if needed)
-Kid size: 5.5 to 6 inches of 1/2″ or 3/4″ elastic (I used 6 inches on the ones I made for my girls, ages 3 and 7)

The pattern can be found under the list of what you need. It is linked, so when you click on it it opens the pattern to be printed. If this isn’t working for you, you can email me and I can send the pdf pattern file via email for you 🙂

[…] Of course those wide headbands we saw above can be taken up a notch by creating double-sided designs. Wear them either way, and you’ll have two headbands sewn into one! {found on Happy Together by Jess} […]

[…] your own preferences. Here are some hairbands I have just made; the wide banded ones are from this tutorial, which, as they are so simple, are a great place to start. More photographs of the finished […]

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